Mass Effect AUReview

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It's here and it's great. Get our take on BioWare's latest.

By Patrick Kolan

The last of a deadly race of aliens is imprisoned inside a scientific research facility. This is the Queen; the leader of her species and the only survivor of a terrible cross-species conflict that left an entire race in tatters and cost the lives of millions. She pleads with you to spare her life - she knows her kind went down the wrong path and she wants to start again; all you need to do is release her and give her the benefit of the doubt. Or, you could ensure that her species is never given the chance to wage war again - it's a safer option, but killing her means final, damning extinction. What do you do?

This is the kind of moral dilemma that sits at the core of Mass Effect. BioWare, champions of the western RPG genre and veteran developer in its own right, has crafted a brilliant and profound storyline that justified the wait. Having moved away from the strict Dungeons and Dragons universe set up by Baldur's Gate, formed new fans with the Star Wars licence and progressively adopted a more accessible real-time action-oriented format for combat, Mass Effect really does feel like the culmination of years of ideas, carefully refined and tied to a story with depth and heart.

For those with no background on Mass Effect, we'll give you the brief you need. The title refers to 'mass effect' technology - basically a technique of using mass-manipulating alien jumpgates to travel through the universe, as well as for use in offensive and defensive tools. These jumpgates were originally of alien origin and found by the human race, midway through the 2100s. Now, in the year 2183, you adopt the role of Commander Shephard of the Systems Alliance Military - basically the galaxy-wide military regiment - and you're about to get dragged into a situation that will reset our understanding about the origins of life in the universe.

The key to all of this rests with two races - the Protheans, an ancient and infinitely technologically superior race that developed the jumpgates but mysteriously vanished, and another decidedly more evil and tangible race known as the Geth, a synthetic race that are a dominant threat for most of the game.

Of course, before you can start kicking all kinds of space-born synthetic butt, you need to create your ultimate Commander. The character creation process is pretty deep - up there with the facial complexity of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, but limited to male and female humans only. Humanity and its place in the larger galaxy is actually a key theme throughout the story. Subplots and dialogue exchanges deal heavily with ideas of racism and prejudice, which really begins to make itself apparent when, early in the game, you're fortunate enough to be the first human inducted into the traditionally alien Spectres (elite military agents).

Class selection and background story choices come next - and these really do have a large impact on how you're going to spend the next 30 hours of your gaming life. Non-RPGers and shooter fans should probably opt for the Soldier, Vanguard or Infiltrator classes. These take advantage of your standard array of pistols, shotguns, assault and sniper rifles. Gameplay is still dominated by experience points, skill trees and clever use of basic biotic skills (which we'll delve into momentarily), but combat is all about behind-the-shoulder shooting, using cover and relying on customising your armour and weapons with upgradeable components, like shield boosters or soft-flesh mangling munitions if you're a Soldier-class.

An example of the galactic map at nebula level. Zoom in closer to go to the solar system level.

Since the Geth, a race of evil sentient robots, are synthetic and mechanical, the Tech class is actually pretty interesting. Outside of being able to access secure consoles and containers more easily than other classes, your abilities are geared towards shutting down and holding off as much as more offensive attacks. Classes include the Engineer, the Sentinel and the Infiltrator.

Things get more interesting and a little more traditional when using a biotic character. Biotics, the magic-like skill of taking advantage of mass effects that warp, suspend, throw and manipulate characters in the field, forces you to manage your casting times and take advantage of squad tactics a little more. These biotic options are ruled by the Adept and Sentinel classes. There are also blended classes, of which Vanguard is probably the most flexible for gamers who want a taste of both styles. This was our selection. Much later in the game, you can also unlock new specialisation classes too, giving you further reasons to replay the game.

There are a lot of moments in the game that provide you with chances to steer your character towards wholesome (the 'Paragon' path) or tainted (the 'Renegade' path). These choices, measured and awarded to you based on your decisions in conversation and mission objectives, affect how people treat you, what conversation options are at your disposal and even what direction the story eventually takes. It's all cleverly integrated into the story, too - particularly if you're pursuing a romantic subplot, as you'll see.